The following views of the minority of the Merchant Marine. Com-Mission
 are adopted as the views of those members of the minority of
the committee whose names are appended thereto: :
Mr. Marrory, from the Merchant Marine Commission, submitted the
following

VIEWS OF THE MINORITY.
[To accompany S. 6291.]

It is agreed by every observant man who has given thought to the
subject that our shipping interests in the foreign trade are in a deplorable
 condition. That something ought to be done to restore to American
 bottoms a reasonable percentage of our export and import carrying
trade is conceded by all; the only difference of opinion is as to what
the remedy should be.
A return to the discriminating-duty policy appears to be generally
favored, as shown by the hearings of the Merchant Marine Commission
 at the most important ports on the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf
coasts and on the Great Lakes. This was the policy of the fathers of
the Republic, under which our shipping interests were so marvelously
developed in our early history. Under this policy merchant ships
flying the American flag were ‘seen in every important port of the
civilized world, and under its fostering care our Hine carried more
than three-fourths of our exports and imports. Although our business
 has increased so wonderfully that we are now the largest exporting
 nation in the world, with corresponding imports, only 8 or 10 per
cent of our foreign carrying trade is done in American bottoms.
The objections urged to a return to this system are based upon the
hecessity of abrogating treaties with nearly all the maritime countries
and the fear of retaliation. That those treaties all operate to the great
disadvantage of the United States under present conditions is not
seriously denied in any quarter. They all provide, too, for abrogation
at the instance of either party to the convention upon the prescribed
notice, so that no element of bad faith could be charged if steps should
be taken to abrogate. In the light of our earlier experiences and in
view of the peculiar existing conditions, we think the fear of retaliation
is not well founded. In our infancy as a nation we not only faced this
danger courageously, but successfully, and our shipping industry prospered
 far beyond anything we have witnessed since we bound ourselves